The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

A detailed account of how new technologies are
helping people excluded from traditional financial services, resulting in
large-scale industry disruption.

About 2.5 billion people—half the world’s adult
population—are effectively excluded from financial institutions and instruments
largely taken for granted by the other half. For the poorest population, this
means that even the simplest tasks—cashing a paycheck, sending a remittance to
a family member, applying for a small loan, etc.—are either impossible or
prohibitively expensive. Oftentimes, merely opening a bank account is daunting due
to the onerous deposit requirements or demands for multiple identification
documents. The modern banking world is built like a pyramid: cheap and
effective for those who comfortably reside at the top and predatory for those
stuck at the bottom. Debut authors Mehta and Realini, both veteran
entrepreneurs with backgrounds in financial-services innovation, depict the plight
of these “financial nomads” addled with practical burdens, not to mention their
regular indignities. The good news is that sophisticated
alternatives—especially ones built on easily accessible mobile platforms—now
offer much needed relief. The authors discuss several specific programs that
have already become widely adopted in places like Kenya, the Philippines, and
Bangladesh. Not only are these systems achieving great success, they are also
compelling a sea change within the all-too-exclusionary banking sector. The
book includes a discussion of practical ways to improve financial
inclusiveness, like revising an antiquated system for formulating credit scores
worldwide. The more sweeping argument the authors make is that these looming
changes will not only benefit the poorest, but will generally stimulate
economic growth and encourage increased governmental transparency. This is an
impressively lucid work that necessarily engages highly technical issues in
accessible prose. Underlying every analytical insight is refreshing optimism
regarding the future of international financial services. While readers might
not agree with the sentiment expressed in the foreword, written by Jeffrey
D. Sachs, that the “end of poverty is coming our way,” it’s hard to disagree that
welcome changes are here, with more on the horizon.

A provocative and heartening look at a revolution
in financial services.

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